


Locked In

by digitalcatnip



Category: PAYDAY (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, That's basically all this is, Written before Hoxton's breakout missions, fluff and feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:12:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalcatnip/pseuds/digitalcatnip
Summary: Wolf and (Houston) get stuck behind the bookcase of Framing Frame Day 3 and have a little heart to heart.





	Locked In

**Author's Note:**

> Partially based off of a drabble by another Tumblr member who is no longer active, written with permission. Originally posted on Tumblr in 2015. I used to do some mild roleplaying with a friend while in-game, so the dialogue etc. is mostly from one of those exchanges. Fits in with the fanon at the time before Hoxton's breakout missions. "Hoxton" in this context obviously is Houston.
> 
> You can follow me in Tumblr @cataouatche !

* * *

 

 

                 Hoxton’s heart threatened to pound out of his chest.  His knuckles white on the heavy bookcase, he pulled with all his strength, trying to get it closed before the owner of the flashlight beam turned into the bedroom.  The solid wood hidden door was on old rails, full of books, and probably weighed more than Hoxton and Wolf combined.

                Wolf was on the other side of the bookcase, swearing rapidly in some other stupid language (or at least Hoxton assumed it was swearing,) as he pushed the bookcase.  It locked into position with a click, and the two men fell against the vault door, breathing heavy. 

                From the other side of the door, they could hear the guard walking around in the room, and the crack of the chatter on his radio.  This was merely a minor setback; all they had to do was wait for Dallas to give them the all clear from his position with a laptop on the roof.

                Minutes past, and Hoxton was growing impatient.  “Hey, are you planning on letting us know when this guy has moved or are you just gonna pick your nose all god damn night?” he hissed into his mouthpiece.

                “He’s still there, little brother, I’ll let you know when he moves.”

                Hoxton groaned internally and rolled his eyes.  Why does he insist on making this more awkward than it needs to be?

                Wolf and Hoxton sat in silence, the tension in the air palpable.  They did not get along well – Wolf was a very particular person in general, Hoxton had learned, he was very quiet and kept to himself most of the time outside of jobs.  The entire situation of Hoxton joining this crew was uncomfortable and depressing, seeing as he was technically the replacement for someone who had gotten busted, but it didn’t take long for most of them to relax and fall back into the routine.

                Most of them.

                Hoxton always felt that Wolf resented him for something.  He never seemed relaxed, and wouldn’t talk to him outside of what was necessary, and when he did speak to Hoxton, he often used terms of endearment as sarcastic insults.  The look on the big man’s face when Dallas shrugged and handed Hoxton someone else’s mask and equipment was that of a kicked puppy.  They were all upset, Dallas said, but Wolf was particularly attached to the crew member whose name and persona Hoxton had adopted.  Just give him time.

                They could hear the security guard standing near the bookcase, talking idly on his walkie-talkie to one of his friends.

                Wolf leaned his head back against the steel door.  “This is fantastic; of course I get stuck in a tiny room with the pretty boy for hours while Employee of the Month out there jerks off.”

                Hoxton glared at him, before remembering that Wolf couldn’t see his face behind his mask.

                “Don’t hate, you’re just jealous of my luscious blonde locks.”  He brushed a hand past his ear.

                Wolf absently rubbed the back of his head.  “At least my face doesn’t look like Dallas’ ass.”

                “Pretty sure that’s your reflection in the mirror you’re thinking of, friend,” Hoxton grumbled.  “Your face is definitely hairy enough.”

                “Nah, I saw you when you woke up this morning,” Wolf said, his voice deadpan.

                Hoxton laughed.  “You and me both know that’s a bald-faced lie; I sleep til two in the afternoon unless I absolutely have to.”

                “You useless piece of shit.”

                “Sorry, I can’t hear you over my fucked up sleep schedule that’s caused by being the only one competent enough at staying quiet to take on the midnight stealth jobs,” Hoxton retorted.

                 “I’m here, aren’t I?” Wolf finally turned to look at Hoxton.

                “Yeah, and guess what, you made too much noise and someone got suspicious, and now we’re stuck in this tiny ass room together, and trust me, I enjoy it about as much as you do.”  Hoxton pulled his knees up in a childish display of defiance.  “Bain told me you were a stealth master, but all you’re good at is blowing shit up, and even then you fuck that up all the time.”

                Wolf growled.  “It’s cute how you think you’re so useful when you are the last one I want watching my back in a firefight.”

                “It’s all part of my master plan to kill you off and take all your money for myself,” Hoxton sneered.  “That is if you don’t alert everyone with your fucking loud-ass drills first.  I thought I showed you how to use an ECM jammer.”

                “You can’t ECM a safe, asshole.”

                Hoxton laughed and leaned in Wolf’s direction, pulling something out of his pocket. “Hey, hey, buddy, have I ever told you about lockpicks?  They’re pretty damn useful and quiet!”  He waved the pick set at Wolf.

                “Let’s see you pick a safe and steal Dimitri’s tiara in less than thirty seconds,” Wolf replied, pushing Hoxton’s hands away from his face.

                “Let’s see you do that without giving yourself away to every civilian in a three block radius.”

                “How many times have you been able to get your drill to unjam just by giving it a dirty look?”

                “None, because my shit doesn’t break.”  Hoxton waved the picks at Wolf again.  “I’ve had these since I was 23 and they haven’t let me down yet.”

                “I still want to see you actually be useful in a firefight.”

                 “Nah, son, firefights are for scrubs.  Dodging bullets and hiding in corners is much more conducive to living.”  Hoxton stretched wide, putting his hands behind his head.

                “Firefights are part of the job, Hoxton, a pretty big part.  Especially with the breakout coming up, you’re going to need to grow some balls.  You can’t be a coward forever.”

                “Better to die a coward than bite off more than I can chew,” Hoxton looked pointedly at Wolf, who often found himself bleeding and full of holes after a loud job. 

Wolf felt no remorse.  Dallas had told him several times to stop rushing out like an idiot, but the pain of getting stitched up was worth the feeling of satisfaction he got from watching the police fall before him.  After all, someone often had called over his shoulder to “keep those helmets flying”, and Wolf intended to obey those commands.

                “At least I will have died taking some down with me, unlike you.  There is nothing glamorous about being gunned down in a corner, begging for mercy, or being carried away to prison to rot.”

                “And isn’t that exactly what happened to the poor bastard whose mask I’m wearing?  I can’t imagine why you would want to bust him out when you have _me_ to bring back the honour of the Hoxton name.”

                Hoxton had meant it as a joke, and wasn’t expecting Wolf to grab him by the throat and slam him on the floor.  Stars sparked before his eyes, and he realized that Wolf meant enough business that if it weren’t for the steel plate on the back of his head, Hoxton would have a concussion.

                “If I ever hear you say anything like that again, I swear to God,” Wolf hissed, mercifully switching languages to voice what he would do to Hoxton.  The intention was still there, however, and Hoxton immediately regretted trying to find Wolf’s sense of humour.

                Hoxton struggled against the bigger man, pushing on his chest and squirming underneath him.  “Hey, hey, get offa me, it was a joke for fuck’s sake.”

                Wolf placed the edge of his hand across Hoxton’s throat, pressing his Adam’s apple in.  “I don’t like jokes,” he growled.  He held his hand there until Hoxton’s face started turning red, then released him, standing up and walking back to his spot against the vault door.  

                Hoxton rubbed his throat, struggling for oxygen.  The air in the room was already growing thin and stale.  “I never had to deal with this shit when I was alone in Chicago, fuck your crazy ass,” Hoxton grumbled.

                “Maybe you should go back to being alone and in Chicago then.  You could go back to being a lonely ghost, and I won’t have to listen to your bullshit.”

                “Like you’d be any better off,” Hoxton laughed.  “I read the papers, you guys fell apart when it was just three of you.  In fact, it’s the entire reason I’m here, remember?”

                Wolf’s voice sounded distant.  “We’ve come a long way since then.  I’m pretty sure we could handle it for a little while longer.”

                “Really?  Are you really sure you can handle something as intense as breaking into a prison with only three of you?”  Hoxton was both incredulous and curious.

                Wolf made a noise that may be the closest to a laugh Hoxton had ever heard him make while sober.  “Bain and Dallas have been going over plans, and it looks like we’re going to have to do it the loud way.  So yeah, I’m pretty sure we could do it.  When it goes loud we’re basically just three anyway, with your sorry ass around.”

                “It wouldn’t have to go loud if Dallas weren’t here, I bet.  My brother is not the most precise person in the world…”

                “Maybe if you two would stop acting like you’ve never met you could learn from one another.  It’d be nice if you could take a hit every now and then like he can.”

                 Hoxton sighed.  “As much as I would love to, the entire situation is just dripping in awkward.  I can’t bring myself to talk to him most of the time, and when I do, I just feel suffocated by him.”

                “You’re family.”  Wolf’s voice had softened.  “Family…isn’t supposed to abandon one another.”

                “He’s the one who disappeared!  For ten fucking years I had to take care of myself and mom without him!”  Hoxton’s face felt hot behind his mask, and the stagnant air in the room was not helping.  “I don’t understand how he expects everything to be all hunky dory after all that time.  It took me months to get over the fact that he wasn’t fucking dead.  I can tell he feels bad about it because he tries way too hard to be that stereotypical big brother, but I don’t even see him as a sibling anymore, and  I need…” he paused, gritting his teeth.  “I need time to be his friend again.”

                “You can at least try,” Wolf said, looking the younger man in the eye as best he could.  “Even if you don’t want to be his brother, you have to be his partner, and you can’t ignore your partners if you want the team to hold.  Splitting houses makes you fall down.”

                Hoxton stared at Wolf, mind boggled at the incorrectness of that cliché.  “Wolf, that wasn’t even close to right.  Besides, that’s exactly what you’ve done to me for the past six months.” 

                Wolf put his head down.  “It is still hard to look at that mask and hear your voice coming from behind it.”

                “Man, seriously, everyone else is over it, what’s your deal?”

                Wolf shook his head.  “Everyone else was not his best friend.”  Wolf tried to push the images out of his head – he didn’t want to deal with this right now.

                “Man, I watched my best friend get gunned down in a gang fight when I was sixteen.  You’re a grown ass man and that shit fucked you up that bad?”  Hoxton’s voice was that of an entitled child.

                “There’s a bit more to it than that, but I don’t feel like discussing my personal life with a little shit like you right now.”

                “We’re discussing mine.”

                “Drop it, Hoxton.”

                “Fine, whatever.”  Hoxton tossed his hands up in defeat. 

                They sat in awkward silence once again.  Hoxton found it difficult to breathe, and he realized he was sweating, the air in the hidden room having warmed up quite a bit during their argument.

                He lay down dramatically on the floor.  “We’re going to fucking die in here.  I’m finally going to see my end at thirty-two years of age, and I’m going to die alongside a homicidal Swede.”

                “At least you were able to pull your secrets out of your chest before you went,” Wolf said, presenting some semblance of humour.

                Hoxton didn’t even try to correct him.  “I still have one secret.”

                “What is it?”

                Hoxton rolled over onto his stomach.  “This does not leave this vault.”

                Wolf shrugged.

                Hoxton sat up, hugging his knees.  “I’m afraid of clowns.”

                Wolf tried to say something, but they were interrupted by a loud banging on the bookshelf.  Both men jumped to their feet, guns drawn, aiming at the back of the bookcase.  Hoxton felt light-headed from lack of oxygen.

                The bookcase slid open, and Hoxton clenched the trigger of his gun, clicking it into position.  The slightest movement now would fire it.

                “I cannot believe I have to come down here and babysit your pasty white asses…”

                Chains shoved the door open wide, arms akimbo.  Hoxton let out his breath and lowered his gun.  Beside him, Hoxton heard Wolf do the same.

                “What the fuck have you two been doing down here, sucking each other’s dicks?  We’ve been yelling at you for ten minutes to start moving gold out.”

                Hoxton pointed to his ear.  “I didn’t her a god damn thing, did you, Wolf?”

                Wolf shook his head.

                Chains grumbled.  “I don’t get paid enough to come down here and get your dumb asses out of a god damn bookcase.  Start handing me bags so we can get out of here.”

 

 

 

                The three men ascended the outside staircase with their spoils – two bags each.  Wolf was breathing heavy, and Hoxton reminded himself to make a jab at him about being out of shape later.

                “What happened down there?  I was trying to let you guys know that guy had moved for ages!”  Dallas asked, packing up his laptop and camera equipment.  Above them, Alex had the helicopter in position and was rolling out the ladder.

                “Comm system bugged out or something,” Hoxton replied.

                Dallas approached his younger brother, wanting to give him a hug, but thought better of it.  “Come on, we’ve gotta get going before someone get suspicious.  We’re pushing it as it is.”

                Hoxton noticed Dallas’ purposeful gait and his palms turn out.  Behind his mask he smiled, trying to push down the contempt he still felt.  As he passed Dallas, Hoxton patted him roughly on the shoulder.

                “Don’t worry about me, big brother.  I’m the ghost, remember?  Worry about this guy instead,” he punched Wolf in the arm.  “He’s a loose cannon.”

                Wolf laughed, and pushed Hoxton’s head to the side before climbing up the ladder to the chopper.

                Dallas stared at the back of Hoxton’s head, dumbfounded.  What happened down there in that vault?

                He was snapped out of his confusion by Wolf’s voice above him.  “Hey, you gonna get up here, old man, or do you need me to carry you?”

                Dallas shoved the last of his equipment into his bag and started up the ladder as Alex gently (for once,) lifted off into the night sky.  When he reached the cabin of the chopper, he found Wolf and Hoxton leaned against one another, masks off, sound asleep.


End file.
